Welcome [back] to another week of your weekly dose 🎶

Every Tuesday, I’ll be sharing tips, updates, and must-know music marketing insights to help you get your music heard!

By Finch Bergling 🙂

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Your Weekly Reel Idea

A guy walks through the park, asking people if they make music.

Most say no.

Then he asks a girl sitting on a picnic blanket. She says yes ✅

They talk briefly, and he asks to feature her song in the video.

She agrees without hesitation 🙄

Was it staged? Probably.

But honestly? The viewers don't care - the video blew up, and the song pulled in over a million streams.

📝 Content Summary: This video uses UGC-type of content (user-generated content) - it looks like someone from the audience is promoting the artist, even though it's part of the plan.

🎦 How to create a similar Reel:

1. Create a script based on a simple scenario that feels natural, like meeting someone in the park, a coffee shop, or even the gym.
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2. Film it with a friend who can help you shoot and follow the script. Having another set of hands can instantly increase the quality of your content in general. Don't underestimate how far a second set of hands can take you 🤚✋
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3. Frame it as a discovery. Instead of saying "here's my new song", make it feel like someone else is featuring you, which makes it more natural.

🤔 Why does it work so well?

1. It uses the power of UGC style content, making it look like someone else is sharing your work, so it doesn't feel like an ad.
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2. It looks authentic, which makes it more relatable to the audience, even though it's scripted.
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3. It doesn't try to hide the fact that it's scripted - and neither should you. Everyone's scripting content on social media today, and as long as you plan it smart and make sure it's entertaining and feels natural, you're good!​
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Your Weekly Tip

Having your song on playlists isn't the goal. Conversion is.

Most artists think the goal is to get their song on a playlist.

But here's what most people miss:

Getting streams to your song from a playlist (a user-curated playlist) is nice, and it can definitely help you grow by giving you exposure. But what most people miss is that a playlist's stream isn't the same as gaining a fan.

It's exciting that someone found your song from a playlist, but if they don't click on your profile, follow you, or stream anything else, it's kind of the end of the story for them.

With that said, playlists are still important, just not as a goal, but as a tool to create momentum.

So, how do you actually use playlists to grow?

1. They boost your popularity score - Spotify ranks your songs based on how well they perform. It's called your popularity score. It affects everything from your placement on Spotify Radio to how likely you are to get your song in algorithmic playlists like Discover Weekly and Release Radar.
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   Also, user-curated playlists are one of the cheapest ways to get streams, so if you're submitting your song to playlist curators, it's possible to get a high number of streams for less money.
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2. They help the algorithm understand your genre - The more playlists your song is added to, especially genre or vibe-based ones, the easier it is for Spotify to understand who to show your music to.
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   If 500 people listen to your song inside a playlist full of garage music or energetic indie rock, Spotify understands the song better, and that improves your targeting for algorithmic playlists, radio, and recommendations.
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3. They serve as social proof - When someone visits your profile and sees your song sitting inside 30+ playlists (let alone if they are big, well-streamed ones), it leaves an important impression:
   ​"People like this song. Maybe I should give it a listen too."
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   ​This also applies to pitching your song, whether it's to playlists, radio stations, or music blogs. Being able to say "this song's been added to 30+ playlists" instantly boosts your credibility.
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Bonus Tip: Create your own playlist

Name it something like 'This is [Your Artist Name]', and put your best songs in there.

That way, when someone streams one song, they'll check out the others too.

You can also add other artists' music to your playlists to make it more diverse and refreshing, which might even help you expand your network.

I remember when I released my first EP, I spent a ton of money on playlist submissions.

I genuinely believed that the music was enough to pull people into my world, and that playlist adds = guaranteed growth.

A lot of my songs actually got placed in good playlists, but I was really disappointed when I found out that aside from a few streams here and there, nothing really happened. It didn't grow my audience.

Or my career.

Playlists are a powerful tool - but only when they're used to attract and keep the listener inside your world (:

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Let's work together 🤝

• ​Submit your music to my Spotify Playlists (56,000+ followers).
  (2nd option - Submit via SubmitHub).
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• ​Get all my music marketing courses and tools - learn how to grow with playlists, ads, social media, branding & more.
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• ​Hire me to run ads for you.​
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• ​Learn how to become a professional playlist curator and make a living from your Spotify playlists.
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Discounts & Links 🔗

• ​Get a 10% discount on SubmitHub​
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• ​Get a 7.5% discount on your first campaign on Playlist Push​
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• ​Get 7% discount on DistroKid​
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• ​Get 7-day free pro on CapCut​
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• Get 7-day free pro on Hypeddit​
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That’s it for this week! Hope today’s email gave you something useful to work with.

Until next week, Finch 🎶

P.S. Newsletters aren’t social media - I can’t see what you’re enjoying unless you tell me. Hit reply and let me know what you liked (or didn’t) - I’d love to hear from you! 😊

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